The early season schedule for the Cubs is very NL Central heavy. On this episode of The Ivy Envy Podcast, we talk about how they have fared so far against the teams in their division. This last series with the Brewers has left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths, but they are still playing the division pretty tough. For instance, the Cubs were dominated by the Pirates last year, but they are playing them tough this year.

The Cubs have a huge hurdle ahead of them in the Cardinals this week. The two teams square off for a 4-game series in St. Louis. As good as the Cubs have been playing, they are losing ground on the Cardinals and these head-to-head games are important to win.

Kris Bryant and Addison Russell have been up for a few weeks now and without being too reactionary, we look at how they’re doing. It’s obviously a small sample size, but both of these guys are doing things well in certain areas and then struggling in others.

Jon Lester had a second strong outing, that makes two in a row and it appears as though that dead arm is coming back to life. His start on Friday was very good and it’s nice seeing the Cubs get the production they expected from Lester.